The talent show was in a big church

“The talent show was in a big church filled with people and there were all these different acts, and one of them was a tap dancer, tap-dancing to ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’ all dressed in red, white and blue. And Elliott played ‘Blackbird’ and I was stunned, and I thought maybe it was just me, but after he finished playing there was a hush, and then this warm applause filled the hall. It was the first time I knew, whoa, this is where he’s going. The end of the story is, they chose somebody to go on a national talent show, and the person they chose was the tap dancer, tap-dancing to ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’.”

Gary Smith

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I’ve been a long time fan of his voice

©Robin

“I’ve been a long time fan of his voice, songwriting skills and overall ear for what i would call beautiful music. It was with great grief that I learned that Mr Elliott Smith had passed away.. The reason that I write this journal is to tell you a nice story about me and Mr Smith. It took place on the 18th september 2001 in Los Angeles, USA.

It’s an interesting word, encompassing

“It’s an interesting word, encompassing, because each song, I feel, is like a universe unto itself . He’s drawing you in, not just by speaking or singing softly, but by the power of his delivery and the power of his concentration, and his absolute dedication to that moment and that song.
If I follow the curve of the piece and want to linger a bit, rather than go right over the edge back to melancholy from raging against the heavens, then the Elliott Smith songs serve rather well. They come very much of out of that same sort of idea that texture is a very, very important part of what makes Schumann’s music very beautiful to me. The melodies are pretty good, too, but mostly it’s the way that he gets different characters out of keys, like Elliott could do with the various colors at his disposal in the studio.”

Christopher O’Riley

Elliott may take turns

“Elliott may take turns here and there, and run into dead ends. But he has a way of maintaining himself and his integrity. He’s quiet, but potent.”

Gary Smith